Sheehy Sells 422 Online Units in One Month
The benefits of effective digital marketing are infinite, and no one knows this better than Sheehy Auto Stores with 23 franchises located across Virginia, Maryland and North Carolina. A dedicated internet sales staff of 35, under the direction of Roy Reutter, is capitalizing on a new platform with their arsenal of digital marketing tools to accommodate their online customers and generate viable leads.
Reutter and his staff are utilizing popular trends like Live Online Chat windows to stay one step ahead of their competitors by allowing consumers to make inquiries into a convenient Chat link located on their websites and digital communications. The Live Chat is an additional way to communicate that allows dealerships to interact with online visitors in real time while they are showing interest in their site. Chat services can be staffed internally: however, Sheehy has chosen to outsource to professional appointment setters who have received customized training specific to the dealership to they understand each dealerships’ unique qualities like pricing policies, personnel and inventory.
Many dealers are starting to warm up to the idea of using Chat or Instant Messaging on their websites to communicate with their prospects, gathering vital information without requiring them to submit completed forms. Some consumers are apprehensive about responding to email or phone, but feel quite at ease with an impromptu entry into a chat window.
“Chat is a product that gets us extra contact with customers. We look at it as a lead generation tool - another way to capture leads off our website. It’s sort of like an add-on feather - like air conditioning on a car,” Reutter said. “We have tons of contacts from our Live Chat button - service, parts and purchase leads - probably about 500-600 clicks a month.”
The highly trained staff at Sheehy is experiencing an 11 percent closing ration on leads generated through chats: but Ruetter confirms that the true success of the function is what his staff does with the lead once they capture it and begin the follow-up process. Sheehy customers also receive a digital newsletter that can be measured, tracking every single person who reads it, what they read, and how much time they spend on the articles.
“New or Used vehicle sales are our main objective, but our biggest benefit has been in the parts and service revenue that is generated as a result,” states Reutter.
The highly-converting Sheehy.com, in conjunction with advanced search engine marketing strategies, has proven very successful for this expanding auto group. Reutter reports that it is not uncommon to field 4,200 leads per month generating 422 online units per month.
THE BOTTOM LINE:
- The highly trained BDC staff at Sheehy handles 4,200 leads per month.
- Advanced digital marketing strategies have increased sales from 103 units to 422 online units per month.
- Online sales represent 24 percent of total sales at Sheehy Auto Stores.
- Sheehy increased leads by 350 percent after switching from DMS provider to a digital marketing firm to build a virtual dealership at Sheehy.com.
- Sheehy Auto Stores has a 9.3 percent total closing ratio.
- Internet leads represent 90 percent of total leads received at Sheehy.
For more information, visit their virtual dealership at www.Sheehy.com.